Amid rush for police reform don’t neglect economic justice

Police reform for poor, minority communities is huge. Economic justice for those same communities is gargantuan. The explosion of protest over the Floyd George killing has focused on police reform. As one who has been following efforts at police reform for over half a century, I’m cautiously optimistic we will finally address the systematic, structural problems that have sabotaged all previous efforts. Even the regressive GOP, which openly courts the white nationalist wing of their base, is stumbling to board the police reform train. The GOP may be evil, but not totally stupid. They see their poll numbers cratering for November, led by a George Wallace style, racist president, oblivious to the electoral outrage he’s generating with his near psychotic response to collective cries for social and economic justice.

My concern is that we’re almost entirely focused on police reform when staggering poverty, crime, hopelessness in America’s vast urban wastelands is fostered by an inhumane economic polity. This system has essentially been the Heartbeat of America since Ronald Reagan campaigned to end New Deal polity that promoted uplift of all rather than push down by the few. It was such a pervasive model that moderates such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama offered only tempered pushback during their two decades at the helm. Current occupant Trump has brought economic neglect to its zenith. He’s been ravenous to leave the forgotten tens of millions even further behind, funneling America’s treasure to his billionaire donor class and the war party wing of his base demanding nearly a trillion a year to wage endless war. He’s made taking away health care from the needy a signature issue to placate his base. His delusional, failed pandemic response has brought the brunt of its carnage to minority communities. He views slave wages as the penalty for not being born into privilege. He throws the white working class red meat hate issues to keep their allegiance.

If magically, every cop pounding the beat on America’s mean streets became as sweet and loving as Mr. Rogers, life for America’s poor and dispossessed would remain short and bleak. We must bring reform and justice to America’s utterly dysfunctional economic system making America the disgrace of the industrialized world.